1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of amusement and specifically relates to a system for use in a shooting gallery for determining which target has been struck when a particular gun is fired.
2. The Prior Art
For safety purposes it has been customary to use optical bullets in shooting galleries used for entertainment in which the activation of the trigger causes the emission of a flash of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) concentrated into a narrow beam by a combination of lenses. This narrow beam is substantially coaxial with the barrel and sighting marks of the rifle.
Photosensors are placed at indicated target positions which are activated by an incident beam of light, causing actuation of any of a number of phenomena which are required by the design of the gallery e.g. a mounted rider falls over--a piano player starts to operate--an alligator opens its mouth--lights flash etc. The variety of these phenomena are limited only by the imagination of the gallery designer.
It is customary to use a number of rifles at a counter, in order to accommodate several customers simultaneously.
There are two serious disadvantages to this prior art which the present invention corrects: (1) when two or more guns are fired substantially simultaneously, the allocation of struck targets to fired guns is plagued with ambiguity; and, (2) the exposure of a camera flashlight, or similar intense source of broad radiation can cause simultaneous activation of all photosensors which the flash of light irradiates, thereby actuating all of the phenomena of the gallery simultaneously and reducing the value of the gallery.